Fresh Picked Georgia Peach
by Randomness
Summary: Story of a girl who came to New york looking for her Grand Father after her mother dies. When she arrives she learns what family really is and finds the Grand Father she should have had. Not a Mary-Sue.
1. Tragedy

    I pretty much own everyone in this chapter. Snyder and Medda and Irven Hall aren't mine however. And if you know Snyder's first name I would be most obliged if you could tell me. Thanks! Oh and I've never been to Georgia so If anything I say about Georgia is wrong, sorry. Well I passed through there once, but I was five at the time. 

Fresh Picked Georgia Peach

    "Alright class, for homework you have to write a half page summary about the weather for each day this weekend and then we'll try to figure out as a class why the weather was like it was. Have a Good Weekend!" Miss Angela said as the bell rang that signalled the end of the school day. Her class rushed out as usual and few stopped to say anything to her at all. The only person who stopped was Stacey Kincaid. She was a straight-A student who's father died when she was little and her mother moved to Berrien County, Georgia. Stacey was ready to graduate this year, all she had to do was pass one more test and she was sure to graduate top of her class.     "Have a good Weekend Miss Angela, see you on Monday." She said smiling.     "You too Stacey, don't forget to watch the stars. You'll learn a lot more from them then they ever will from you."     "I know, so I shouldn't bother trying to impress them. I should just learn from them." Stacey said smiling. Miss Angela had been telling her the same thing since she was seven and now that she knew what it meant she enjoyed hearing it.     "Goodbye Stacey" Miss Angela said and Stacey walked out of the class. "I'm gonna miss that girl when she graduates." She muttered. 

    Stacey left the school house and ran right into Erik Dormin. He was the ladies man of the school. He was 3 years older then Stacey because he failed quite a few times because his father had gotten sick.     He was about to Apologize when he noticed who it was, then he just glared at her and knocked her books out of her hand. "Oops."     Stacey glared at him then kneeled down to get her books. "You don't have to be such a jerk all the time you know."     "But it's just so much fun" He said in a fake whine before smirking.     "One day you're going to be incredible sorry that you were so mean to me." Stacey said turning up her nose and walking passed him.     "Yeah, and pigs will fly and play golf." He muttered before walking in the opposite direction.     "He is so mean, well I won't let him spoil such a beautiful day" She muttered to herself as she walked towards home with her books secure in her grasp. 

    She walked along the path towards home. It really was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and it was her birthday, though nobody in town knew that. It was something special her mother and her shared.     "Mommy, I'm home!" She yelled as she ran in to the Kitchen. It was childish but she was always really close to her mother, it was just the two of them since forever and she always fell back on that greeting for her birthday.     Today however, there wasn't any reply. There was always a reply because her mother was always home at this time of the day, always.     Stacey dropped her books and ran out of the kitchen into the living room, up the stairs and started looking in the Bedrooms. There her mother was, lying passed out on the floor. "MOMMY!!"     Her mom lifted her head a bit and looked at Stacey. "I'm sorry about your birthday" she said weakly.     "That doesn't matter, what happened to you?" Stacey said as she put her mothers head in her lap.     "Someone broke in, I tried to stop them but I...." She couldn't finish her sentence.     "It's alright, I'll go get the doctor and you'll be fine." Stacey said soothingly.     "No! Don't leave.....There's a box on my dresser. It has a letter for you, in case I died....When I'm gone I need you to open it. It has 'Secrets' engraved on the lid."     "Mommy, don't talk like that." Stacey said as tears rolled down her cheeks.     "I love you Baby, I'll always love you." She whispered. "Never forget me..." Then she died. She just stopped working, like a doll who needed it's key turned. Suddenly all the life had left her eyes and Stacey's Mother died. Stacey held her mother's hand and cried. 

    "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU AREN'T EVEN GOING TO LOOK FOR THEM?!" Stacey yelled at the police officer.     "I mean we don't have a shred of clues to work with. The place doesn't even look like it got broken into. The only reason we have to believe that there was a break in was that statement that you 'say' your mother made." The Officer answered.     "What about the fact that my mother is DEAD?!" Stacey yelled.     "She could have easily fainted from fatigue and hit her head on a dresser corner." He answered. "Now I know you've had a terrible loss but we can't just follow up every lead, we wouldn't know where to begin to look. Why don't you go home until someone finds some family you can stay with." He said kindly.     "I have no family, she was my only family." Stacey said bitterly before leaving the building. In the past week she'd done a lot of things, including graduating from school early at the age of 14 and with the help of Miss Angela, Stacey settled her mother's debts. The only thing she had yet to do was read her mother's letter in the box, she hadn't even opened it.     She walked home and picked the box off the dresser. It looked like a normal jewellery box except it wouldn't open. No matter how hard she pulled on the lid it wouldn't open. She did something she had seen her mother do on many occasions almost out of instinct. She hit the bottom as hard as she could and the lid opened. Her mother always said it was a secret way to keep things safe.     Stacey opened the box and found quite a few things in it. Her birth certificate, some money, a letter, a wooden heart with the letters NY on it and a picture of her mother with the father she never knew.     She opened the letter and started reading. 

_    Dear Stacey,     I pray that you'll never had to read this letter but I wrote it in case of my death. I've always told you that you had no family but that's not entirely true. My father is still alive. I personally don't like him all that much but he is your only living relative. I never told you this but I grew up in New York. My father is still there but I never even told him you existed. Now you have a choice, you could go to New York and find my father or you could go to New York and find an old Friend of mine. She was my best friend for a very long time and I'm sure she would be delighted to see you. Her name is Medda Larksen and as far as I know she works in an establishment named Irven Hall. There is money in the Secret box for you to buy a ticket to New York and it should be enough for you to find lodging for a week or so, by then I'm sure you'll either have found my father or Medda. As I said before I pray that you never have to read this but if you are I just want you to know that I will always love you, no matter what. Also, no matter what my father tells you, your father loved us both a lot and he would be proud of you, as I am. 

Yours always, 

Isabel Melanie Snyder Kincaid or as you would call me, Mommy. 

    PS Your GrandFather works at a place called the House of Refuge or something to that extent. It's fairly well known in New York.

_

    Stacey folded up the letter and for the first time since her mother died, she cried.     "Miss Angela, I need your help...." Stacey said when Miss Angela opened the door. Stacey had to go to Miss Angela's house to see her because school had ended for the summer.     "What is it Stacey?" She asked as she ushered the girl into her house. "Would you like some tea?"     "Um, yes please." She sat at the table and took a sip of the tea that was placed in front of her. "I need to get to New York and I was wondering if Maybe you could take care of things here. I don't want to have to come back. Not that I don't love it here, I grew up here but there are things I need to do and I need to be in New York to do them...." She said in a rush.     "Alright, I promise to take care of things. I assume you want your house sold and furniture and everything?" Miss Angela said in a questioning tone.     "Yes, I'll send you a letter with an address to send the money after you take care of it." She said quietly. She didn't like the idea of selling her house.     "Alright and how exactly are you getting to New York?" Miss Angela asked.     "Mommy left me money for a train trip." She said.     "I've got a perfect idea. Since I don't believe anyone should travel alone, why don't you go with one of your classmates who is going to New York in about a week?"     "Alright, that sounds good. When is she leaving?" Stacey said almost happily, not quite though.     "He actually and next Tuesday."     "Alright, who is it?"     Miss Angela almost seemed embarrassed at that point "Erik Dormin"     "No, I refuse to go with HIM" She yelled as she jumped up ready to storm out of the room.     "You have to go with someone and he'll take care of you on the trip." She said hopefully.     "If, and I sincerely mean IF you can get him to agree then I'll go, otherwise I'll go alone." Stacey declared before storming out of the room.     "Sometimes I hate those two." Miss Angela muttered as she left to go see Erik. Erik lived on a farm only four houses away in their small town so it wasn't really a bother to go. She knocked on the door and was met with Erik's mother. "Hello Mrs. Dormin, how are you this evening?"     "Well, and yourself?" She answered while ushering Miss Angela into the house.     "I'm quite well. I hear your son is heading to New York to find work."     "Oh yes, he doesn't want to be a farmer he says. Wants to see the big city. I told him he shouldn't go but he's being terribly insistent." She said as she offered tea. (A/N: I know everyone here offers tea and that's probably not true in the setting of the story however I'm keeping it like that because everyone where I live offers tea when you show up at their door.)     Miss Angela declined the tea but sat down and took a biscuit. "I know of a young Lady who is planning on going to New York soon and I was wondering if your son would be willing to accompany her."     "I'm sure it'll be fine. My boy is such a gentleman." She said proudly.     Miss Angela raised an eyebrow at this but quickly regained her calm, composed teacher face. "Is your son around so I can ask him?"     "Yes, he's just out in the barn, I'll go get him." She said as she moved to stand.     "Don't worry about it, the barn is on my way so I can stop in and talked to him there." Miss Angela said because she knew there would be an argument and she didn't want it to erupt in front of this nice woman.     "Alright, please tell him to come in for Dinner when you're done." She said nicely before turning showing Miss Angela out.     She went to the barn and started looking around for the black haired boy. Every time she referred to him as a boy his emerald eyes sparked dangerously and he insisted that he was a man not some child. "Erik!" She yelled.     "WHAT?" He yelled from the hay loft, he looked down and saw Miss Angela. "Oh, Hi Miss Angela, what are you doing here?"     "Remember how I tutored you for the whole year and you said you owed me?" She asked hesitantly.     Erik started getting nervous at that point. "Yeah I remember."     "Well, now I need a favour."     "And what might that be?" He asked cautiously.     "You're going to New York and someone else I know is going to New York and I would rather she not travel alone so I was hoping you could escort her." She answered.     "Oh, is that all? Sure I'll do it." He said, then he grabbed the rope and swung out of the hayloft into a huge pile of hay on the other side of the barn.     "Oh good, I'll go tell her right away." She said, almost running out the door.     "Who is it anyway?" Erik asked almost nervously. _'This is too easy'_ he thought.     "Um....Stacey Kincaid." She said and then winced at his response.     "THAT RED-HAIRED, GREEN EYED, SNOB??!!?" He exclaimed.     "No, that nice girl who just lost her mother and who needs to go to New York to find her only living family who doesn't even know about her existence. This trip will be very hard on her and I don't want you making it any worse. She is hurting right now so I ask that you at least try to be half the gentleman your mother believes you to be." Miss Angela answered in her always calm teacher tone.     "That was too bad about her mother...." He said almost sympathetically.     "Exactly. You wouldn't want her to travel alone in such a distraught state, would you?" She asked. She had already won him over, this was just to ice the cake.     "Alright I'll do it. Now if you don't mind, Miss Angela, I have to get back to work." He said as he was about to start feeding the horses.     "Actually, you don't. Your mother wants you to go in for supper now." She said, smiling at him one last time before leaving.     "She better be on time because I'm not missing my train to wait for her!" He yelled before walking towards home. 

    Tuesday arrived very quickly and before anyone could blink, Stacey was standing on the platform with a bag of clothes, her secret box, some books and her ticket. Miss Angela had come to see her off while Erik was saying goodbye to his parents and brothers.     "Take care in New York, and be careful it's a dangerous city." Miss Angela said while organizing the books that Stacey was bringing with her.     "I will." Stacey answered quietly.     "And don't neglect your studies, even if you can't continue your education in an institute of sorts that doesn't mean you aren't intelligent and that can't learn from other sources such as books and people." Miss Angela continued.     "I know." Stacey answered in the same sad tone.     "And remember that no matter what, you were top of your class. Don't let anyone say you can't do something because you're a girl. You beat all the boys who were two years older then you."     "I know."     "Don't forget to watch the stars, you'll learn a lot more from them then they will from you" Miss Angela finished with tears in her eyes.     Stacey couldn't help it anymore. She cried and hugged Miss Angela tightly. "I know, so don't bother trying to impress them, just learn from them."     They both stood there and cried until they heard "ALL ABOARD!"     "That's your cue to get on the train." Miss Angela muttered sadly.     "I'll miss you!"     "I'll miss you too, write me!" Miss Angela yelled as Stacey started boarding the train.     "I will, you write back."     "I will, I promise."     Erik was about to board behind Stacey when Miss Angela stopped him and hugged him too. "Take care of yourself and take care of her. You'll need all the true friends you can find in New York and she is a true friend." Miss Angela whispered to him.     "I will, I promise." He answered.     "I'll write to you too if you write to me first with an Address and I'll miss you as well. You were always one of my favourites." Miss Angela told him before handing him a copy of Le Count of Monte Cristo. "Remember that knowledge is power." With that Miss Angela stepped away from the platform as the train rolled away. "Good Luck" She muttered when they disappeared from sight. 

    Author's Note: I don't know if I should romantically involve Erik and Stacey so if you could review with your oppinion on the subject it would be great. Thanks! 


	2. Train wreck or not?

    Alright, I'm back with Chapter two....Now I was wondering, should I make Erik and Stacey a couple at some point or not? I pretty much made them both up on the spot so I didn't really think about it before hand but I would like to know what you people think. So if you could review and tell me what you think that would be great. Enjoy! 

Fresh Picked Georgia Peach by Randomness

    'I hate train rides, I hate train rides, I hate train rides' Stacey kept muttering to herself as she looked out the window. She had been on the train for an hour and had yet to say a single word to Erik.     Erik was sitting right beside her reading 'The count of Monte Cristo' and basically not being even a little fazed by this trip.     "How can you sit there and read like that?" Stacey asked suddenly. "I can't even think on trains without getting sick."     He put his book down and looked at her. "It just take a level of concentration that, even with all your intelligence, you are unable to achieve." He said smiling.     "If I didn't know you better I would say that was a subtle insult, Unfortunately however, I do know you and I know that you wouldn't know subtle if it bit you in the-" She got cut off suddenly.     "Maybe you don't know as much about me as you think you do, carrot top." He said.     "My hair isn't orange you know, it's more red." She muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.     "Actually your hair looks like a peach but peach top isn't much of an insult is it, carrot top?" Erik smirked.     "You are such a jerk" I nearly yelled, people were starting to stare at us.     "You know, the sure sign that you've lost a debate is to insult your opponent." He muttered to me.     "Shut up" I muttered back.     "Or to say shut up." He smirked again.     _'I hate that stupid smirk of his, why did I agree to this again?'_ Stacey thought to herself. "I don't like talking to you and I'm sure you don't like talk to me either so why don't we both just stop talking to each other for the rest of the trip. Agreed?" She asked in annoyance.     "Agreed." He said calmly, almost cheerfully as he opened his book and started reading again. The without looking up from the page he said. "You started talking to me first."     Stacey turned away from the window to look at him again. "What about our agreement?"     He looked up from his book. "I was just saying that you talked to me first."     "But you agreed not to talk for the rest of the trip" She said sternly.     "Alright, then let's stop talking for the rest of the trip."     "Fine" She said exasperated and looked out the window again.     "Fine" He said back, as he turned back to his book.     "Wow it's getting dark out...."Stacey muttered a little while later.     Erik put his book down and turned to look at her. "Alright, do you want to talk or just stare out at the darkening sky. I don't care either way but I really hate to get into the book and have to stop to chat every two seconds." He said in an annoyed tone.     "I didn't even know you liked to read." Stacey said quietly.     "Well I do, it's a favourite pass time of mine." He answered. "So are we going to talk or not?"     "Want to play twenty Questions?" She asked after a moment of thought.     "Alright, that's something to do at least." He said as he put the book away. "You go first."     "You refuse to ever tell anyone your middle name, so what is it?" She asked smiling a bit.     Erik looked at her for a moment before answering as if trying to decide whether she was serious. "Wilmore" He said finally.     She grinned and said. "Wow, you actually told me, I assumed you would go back to reading or something.     "My turn. Did you ever like-like someone in school?" He said. He had only played this game once and it was at his little cousins birthday party. All he knew were girly questions.     "Yes, I did."     "Who?"     "That's two questions." She said smirking. "It's my turn now. Hmm. Why did you decide to come to New York?"     "It always seemed like a fascinating place. All those big buildings and parks. Also, I here there are a lot of jobs there and I don't want to be a farmer, I've got enough brothers that I can get away with leaving so I just decided I would go." He said truthfully. "How about you?"     "I always wanted to live on a farm. My Mother and I only had a house and a yard. However, my mother grew up there and thought that was where I should go if anything happened to her. To be quite honest, I'm scared to death." She said looking out the window. "What's your biggest fear?"     "Inclosed spaces. I hate those, I always feel like the walls are closing in on me....What's your's?"     "Being alone. I'm always afraid of being alone......Want to go to sleep now?" She asked. Her eyes were getting droopy and she was nearly asleep as it was.     "Sure Carrot Top, I'm just going to read some more." He said, pulling out his book again. "You go ahead.     "Alright, Goodnight Erik" She closed her eyes and leaned against the Window. "You big jerk." She muttered before going fast Asleep.     Erik smirked again and read some more. He was at a really interesting part of the book. Suddenly a sound distracted him. He looked at Stacey and she was shivering. "I'll never get any sleep if this keeps up" He muttered, not unkindly. He took off his coat and through it over her and then went to sleep Himself. 

Train Ride, Day 2 

    The sun was coming in the window and Erik slowly was pulled out of blissful unconsciousness to face the world around him. He knew he was awake, deep down he knew it but the very stubborn childish part of his mind thought that maybe, just maybe if he kept his eyes closed he wouldn't have to wake up. That was until he felt something warm move on his chest. His eyes snapped open and Stacey had her face buried in his chest with her arm across his stomach as if he were some kind of big teddy bear, but to make matters worse, his arm was around her too. _ 'Uh-oh, I need to somehow shift her back to leaning on the window without her waking up and finding us like this but how?' _ He thought to himself.     Stacey stirred a bit and muttered, "Five more minutes, mommy."     Erik winced and slowly lifted his arm up. He pushed her lightly and she moved back towards the window where she settled down again. Then Erik got up to use the bathroom.     As soon as Erik was gone, Stacey woke up. She looked around to reorient herself and then noticed the coat that was still on her. "This is Erik's......awfully nice for him to have given it to me." She said to herself. "I hope he's not feverish or anything."     Erik started walking back and noticed her looking at his coat. _ 'I forgot about that...' He thought. 'She must think I'm delirious or something.'_ He walked back and sat down.     "Where did you go?" She asked.     "The washroom." He answered.     Stacey looked out the window at the passing landscape. "It's beautiful out. Interesting to see so many things go past like that."     "It's just like any other train ride." He said while rummaging through his things.     "I've never been on a train ride before...." She answered.     "Never been on a train ride?!" He exclaimed.     "No, not once." She answered with a tone of confusion.     "Well, I'm just going to have to bring you on a tour, now won't I?" He said, standing and offering her a hand.     She looked at it suspiciously.     Erik smirked. "Don't you trust me carrot-top?"     "You are an absolute nightmare." She said before taking his hand.     "I know, hurry up now" He said jokingly as he led her out of the car. "First we come to another car just like ours. Fascinating isn't it?"     Stacey couldn't help but smile at him now. "Oh yes, I've never seen anything quite like it."     Erik kept a tight hold on her hand as he led her through and then paused at the door. "Now things are going to get a little different. We're Entering First Class, just look like you're better then EVERYONE and no one will hassle you. Don't worry, you're good at acting better then everyone." He said laughing.     She hit him lightly on the shoulder but still followed him through the doors.     "This is the first class dinning rooms." He said, leading her through the chandelier lit car. "The rich and famous come here to eat dinner."     "I wouldn't have guessed." She said sarcastically.     "But the funny thing is, if your rich, you don't eat breakfast or lunch in this car. Only dinner. Lunch, you have in the parlour car and breakfast is delivered to you." He said smiling at her confused expression.     "But that's ridiculous!" She exclaimed.     "Ah, but my dear, that's the rich and famous. Ridiculous, all of them. Shall we continue our tour?" He said, leading her to the next car where there were beds and some people sleeping. "This is one of the First Class Sleeping cars. They either get a room to themselves with 2 beds and anything their hearts desire or they get a single bed with a curtain. Still better then sleeping in your seat."     "I wish I had a bed." Stacey said, rubbing her shoulders.     "All of us train scum wish that. Shoulders hurt?" He asked suddenly.     "A bit." She muttered, embarrassed.     "Turn around for a second." He said.     She raised an eyebrow at him.     "Carrot Top, you have to trust me at some point."     "Alright Nightmare, I'll trust you this once" She said, turning her back on him. She nearly jumped a mile when he started rubbing her shoulders.     He rubbed the knots out of her shoulders then grabbed her hand again. "Doesn't that feel better now?" He asked as he pulled her to the next car that was the same as the last.     "Yes actually." She said while looking around.     "Good" He stopped looking at her and kept pulling her along. "The next two cars should be exactly like this one, but the next one after that will probably be the parlour car. Maybe we could grab some rich food on our way through."     "Sounds good to me" Stacey quickened her pace so he wouldn't be dragging her the whole way and soon they were surrounded by platters of food.     "Help yourself, just try not to get caught." Erik whispered as he started grabbing food without stopping off of trays that were put on tables on both sides of them. Erik grabbed them each a plate and just kept pilling the food and as quite as they entered, they were through.     "Wow, I've never seen so much food in my life."     "That's the rich for yah, they love food but they almost never finish it." Erik said, then he looked around. "Uh oh..."     "What?" Stacey asked.     "We're in the observation car. We need to hurry and not get noticed or we'll be kicked out of this section faster then you can say peanut butter." He said almost running through, just barely avoiding dropping his food.     Stacey was struggling to keep up to him but she kept accidentally running into people. "Sorry, sorry, excuse me, sorry" She kept muttering as she hurried. Finally she got to the end of the car to find that Erik was gone. "Oh, well this is just great...." She muttered only to be pulled into the next car from behind. "Ahh!"     "Shh" Erik said. "Now here is the best car, in my humble oppinion. "This is the Library car. AKA the caboose. No one knows that this is here so no one bothers to come in here." He said. Erik walked around and pointed out all the books and all the best places to sit. "Now eat up."     Stacey picked a chair and sat to eat. "This is really good, what is it?"     "That?" Erik pointed at what she had in her hand.     "No, the monster that's attacking the train, of course this."     "Escargot" He said, looking away so that he wouldn't smirk.     "Oh, escargot." She took another bit then seemed to freeze. "Escargot.....Isn't that...?" She trailed off looking at the piece in her hand.     Erik couldn't hold back the smirk anymore. "Snail"     Stacey suddenly looked really sick.     "If you have to throw up, go out that door." He said pointing to the door opposite of where they came in.     Stacey bolted out that door like there was no tomorrow and sounds of vomiting was heard through out the car.     Erik suddenly felt a little bit Guilty. He made his way to the back and held her hair out of the way while she through up. "It's ok, you'll be fine." He said while he rubbed her back.     Stacey threw up a few more times and then just relaxed into Erik's arms.     Erik sat down and held her for a little while on the back fenced in area of the caboose (A/N: I don't know if that actually exists but I've seen it on TV)     "Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked distrustingly.     "Well, I couldn't let any of that lovely peace hair get dirty now could I, Carrot Top?" He said jokingly.     "How come you can call me carrot top but I don't have an insulting name for you?" She asked looking up at him.     "You don't have the creativity to come up with one?" He suggested.     "You really are a Nightmare." She muttered.     "There you go, Nightmare. You've called me that a couple times."     Stacey shrugged and stood up. She held onto the railing and looked out. "Wow, it's pretty here."     "This is where people wave good bye to their loved ones right before they leave." Erik said, standing up to lean on the railing beside her "You know, you can tell a lot about people by how they wave."     "Oh really?" She asked.     "Yes, if they wave like this." Did a weak little shy wave. "Then you can tell they're in love."     "Like this?" She mimicked his wave.     "Yes, a little more lost little girlish though."     Stacey smiled.     "And if they wave like this." Erik did a Huge excited wave. "You can tell their just getting home from a long trip.     "I see..." She said, acting like a fascinated student.     "And if they wave like this" He did a small confident wave. "Then you know that their gonna ask you out."     "How do you know all this, Nightmare?" She asked slyly.     "Because, unlike someone, who learned everything through book smarts, I have learned a great deal by observing others." He said, with an air of snobbery.     "Don't try to impress the stars?" She asked.     "Just learn from them, exactly."     "And here I thought I already knew what she was talking about" Stacey said sadly as she watched the stars start to come out.     "That's the great thing about being Alive, you learn a new thing everyday."     "Let's go back, it's getting late." She said as she took his hand and led him back.     Erik just followed along. 

    The sun rose on the last day of their train trip and Stacey opened her eyes to realize she was leaning against Erik. 'Oh well' She thought as she just laid there and rested.     Erik slowly woke up to, finally his eyes fluttered open.     "Good Morning." She said, not really looking at him     "Morning." He answered.     "So, It's our last day. What are you going to do when we get to New York?" Stacey asked quietly.     "Probably find a job, maybe look for a school that will accept me, how about you?"     "I'm going to look for my Grand Father, and if that doesn't work, I'm going to look for my Mother's best friend."     "What if you can't find either?" He asked, with his arm still around her.     "Then I'm going to find you and make you take me home"     "Sounds like a good Idea Carrot Top. Looks like you have everything worked out."     "Thanks Nightmare, I just hope that's true....HEY LOOK!! I see New York, and the Statue of Liberty!!"     "Really?" He leaned over and looked.     They both watched the city come closer and closer into view until before they knew it, they were getting off at the platform. They each grabbed their bags and books and everything then turned to look at each other.     "I misjudged you, you weren't as much as a nightmare as I thought you would be." She said smiling a little.     "Well thank you very much, you were a peach yourself." Erik answered almost sarcastically.     "I'm glad I went with you and I'm glad I got to know you better. Now I know what Miss Angela meant by don't try to impress the stars, just learn from them."     "I suppose I learned something from you too...." He said seriously. "I'll call you whenever I figure out what it was." He couldn't keep his signature smirk off his face.     Stacey smacked him in the arm and then smiled. "Well, If you're going to be like that, I'll just go." She turned to leave.     Erik grabbed her arm and turned her back to face him. "Sorry Carrot Top. I'll miss yah, I really will and I never expected to." He hugged her then.     Stacey hugged back. "I'll miss you too...."     Erik gave her a kiss on the head. "When you find what you're looking for, don't hesitate to look me up."     "Any hints on where you'll be?" She asked pulling away from him, smilling in contentment.     "Just looked for the biggest house in New York and you'll find me there." He smirked.     "I'm sure I will, one day" She said in complete seriousness and then she turned around and left, never looking back.     If she had, she might have noticed Erik, who didn't leave from where he was standing until she was well out of sight. 


	3. New York, New York

    I really have no idea what I'm doing for this chapter. I, in fact, was going to start on a different story all together but for some reason I just started typing this one so we'll see how it turns out now won't we. It's so weird to be writing again after a week of school work. Plus my fingers are killing me because I just started practising guitar again after a month and a half. Anyway, I hope this turns out ok. 

Fresh Picked Georgia Peach by Randomness

    Stacey was walking around on her first day in New York. She knew deep down that she should find somewhere to stay for the night but she just couldn't help walking around and exploring. She was having a great time in Central Park. "Wow, it's so beautiful here. Of course, Georgia is better." she muttered to herself.     "That's kinda a matter of opinion" came a voice from behind her.     She turned around to see a boy, little older then her. He had a pile of papers under one arm and a crutch under the other. "Who might you be?" she asked politely.     "The name's Crutchy. I'm a newsie. Wanna buy a pape?" he asked     "How much is it?" she asked, digging through her pockets for money.     "Penny a pape, miss." he said, pulling a paper out for her.     Stacey paid him and looked around the park. "It's beautiful here." she said quietly.     "My favourite spot in all of Manhattan." Crutchy added to her statement.     "Maybe you could help me..." she said, turning back to look at him     "Always willing to help a lady." he said kindly     "I need to find a place called the um....." she dug through her stuff and found the 'secrets' box. She pulled out the letter and found the place she was looking for. "The house of refuge."     Crutchy's jaw dropped. "Why do yah wanna go there?" He asked in surprise.     "I need to see someone about something and I was told that they could be found there." she said, folding the letter and replacing it in the box.     "A lot of people can be found there. That's where they send kids who have a bit of a record with the law." Crutchy answered almost shuddering.     "I take it that you've been there?" she asked quietly.     "Too many times for my lifetime." he answered.     "Well, maybe you could help me with something else." she said. "I'm new here-"     "That was a little obvious" he cut off with a sweet smile.     Stacey smiled and continued. "I need somewhere to stay and I was wondering if you could maybe suggest somewhere? I have a bit of money to pay for it...." she said while clutching her box.     "I might know a place, but I have to check with my friend Jack first, Secrets."     "Secrets?" she asked, confused.     "You ain't told me your name, so I just called you by what was on the box." Crutchy explained. "Everyone where I come from has a nickname, mine's Crutchy....for obvious reasons."     "I think Secrets is a lovely name." Stacey said quickly. "When can we see your friend?"     "I need to sell my last 20 papes and then we can go."     "Why don't you give me half and I'll sell a little further away, you'd be done quicker that way."     "Alright" He said passing her half his papes.     Stacey walked to a different path and quickly glanced through the Paper. Finding a good Headline, she started yelling. "Explicit photo of Mayor in the arms of a Minor"     In less then five minutes all her papers were sold and she walked back to crutchy giving him 10 cents.     "I'm done."     "Explicit of the Mayor in the arms of a Minor?" Crutchy asked looking through the paper.     "He's dancing with his daughter at a dinner party." Stacey said with a shrug.     "Wow, you're good at this. Very good for a beginner."     "I know someone who tended to twist facts to make it more interesting. We were close so I learned it from her." she answered. "You done too?"     "Yeah, I'm done. Let's go to see if we can track down Cowboy."     They took literally until nightfall to find Jack, they checked Tibby's, asked at Medda's and even checked with the Brooklyn spies. They finally just went to the lodging house and Stacey checked in without Jack's permission.     "Alright, miss.....Secrets." Kloppman said. "The first night is free and after that it's a penny a night."     "Thank you, Mister Kloppman. I was so worried that I wouldn't find a place to stay." Stacey said excitedly.     "That's alright Secrets. It's what I'm here for. You do understand that currently we only have one bunk room so you'll be in a room with about 30 boys." he asked carefully, he didn't want her to be surprised when she got up there.     "Crutchy explained that to me, and there's no need to worry because I won't be here too long, just until I find my family, I'm sure everything will be great." Stacey was actually bubbly. It was amazing, she hadn't been bubbly since her mother died.     "As long as your sure. Also, there is an early wake up call because the boys have to get to the distribution office at 6."     "Ok, I'll wake up then too. Thank you very much Mr. Kloppman." Stacey answered smiling.     Kloppman picked up one of her bags. "Crutchy, let's show our new charge to her bed." he said, heading upstairs.     The other two followed; one with excitement and a bounce in her step, the other with slight nervousness that he couldn't expel. 

    Stacey couldn't believe how easy it had been to find a place to stay. Every free moment on the train ride up she had envisioned her first night in New York to involve sleeping in a cardboard box in an alley somewhere, but here she was, heading towards a nice warm bed. She completely lucked out.     Kloppman paused in front of the door and said. "Wait out here a second, I'll introduce you." Kloppman walked in and shouted something. Some words were exchanged and he gestured for her to enter.     She stepped in the door and all stopped. 

    Kloppman knew this was the first girl to be brought into the Lodging house with this particular group of boys. He was already making plans to fix up the girls bunk room though. He left her in the hallway and walked in. "Boys! I got somethin' ta say!!" He yelled.     Everyone groaned and looked at him. "Can you hurry up, I got a game to finish!" Racetrack complained.     Kloppman looked around and made sure he had everyone's complete attention. "Alright, there is a newbie that's going to be staying a few days, maybe longer. I want you all to be courteous and nice."     Kid Blink looked surprised. "Jack didn't say anything about anyone new arriving."     "That's because Jack doesn't know yet, Crutchy couldn't find him to ask him about it."     Everyone raised an eyebrow at him. Jack was not going to like this. However, he would like them to make the new kid feel as welcome as possible.     "Alright Kloppman, bring him in. We'll be extra courteous" Racetrack said sarcastically.     Kloppman took a deep breath then gestured for the new kid to enter. Then this girl walked in.     Everything dropped. Racetrack even dropped his cards, showing everyone his flush.     Kloppman would have laughed at the expressions on everyone's faces had this not been such an iffy issue. He had to admire Secrets courage because while everyone was staring at her, she held her head high and smiled even if it was a nervous smile.     "...hi" she said, giving a little wave.     You could have honestly heard a pin drop in that room. As everyone stood paralysed at this oddity that shouldn't have been in their bunk room, at this.....girl.     Crutchy hobbled in and led her over to his bunk. "The top bunk is free right now but you can have the bottom if you want."     Stacey smiled and said. "The top is perfect, I always wanted to sleep on the top bunk of bunk beds."     Crutchy threw her bag on the top bunk smiling too.     "Boys, this is Secrets. She just got to New York and she needed a place to stay, remember, be nice." Kloppman warned as he brought over her other bag and then with a reassuring pat on Secrets' shoulder, he left the room. 

    It was way past lights out when Jack finally came home. He had been over at the Jacobs' home with Sarah, David and Les considering their parents weren't home. He completely lost track of time and so now he was sneaking in hoping that Mr. Kloppman didn't catch him. He made it up to the bunk room pretty easily, until he remembered that his bed was covered in stuff. He was planning on tidying up right before bed. He couldn't do it now though, not with everyone asleep.     "Oh well, I'll just use the spare bunk tonight and clean up tomorrow." He muttered to himself as he walked over to the top bunk of Crutchy's bed. He jumped up and suddenly a blood curdling scream filled the air and Jack fell off of the bed.     Within moments everyone was out of bed and Kloppman was in the bunk room flicking on the light. "Well Jack, it was nice of you to join us eventually." Kloppman said as he gave Jack a hand getting up. "I see you've met our new boarder, Secrets"     "But she's a girl!" Jack exclaimed, brushing the dust off of him.     "Jack, we allow girls in the Lodging house. We've always allowed girls in the Lodging house." Kloppman started saying. "A while back, the leader of the Manhattan Newsies was a girl named Peach. Had hair kinda like secrets over there. As you can see, there is no reason for secrets not to stay."     "No one asked me." Jack stated, stubbornly.     "I couldn't find yah Jack, I looked everywhere. Medda's, Tibby's, Brooklyn. I couldn't find you and it was getting late so I just brought her here." Crutchy said while standing in front of Stacey as if to protect her.     "This is ridiculous. We'll be the laughing stalk of New York if we have a girl Newsie." Jack exclaimed.     "I'm not a Newsie. I'm just staying here until I can find my family." Stacey piped up at that point.     "If she ain't a Newsie, she can't stay." Jack commanded at that point.     Kloppman stared at Jack for a moment. "Jack, may I speak to you in the hallway?" He asked politely though he looked ready to blow up. He walked out of the room pulling Jack along before Jack could answer and slammed the door.     "What was that For?!" Jack yelled.     Kloppman took a breath to calm himself. "Jack, I rarely ever interfere with your leadership simply because you're a good leader. However, in this case, A. You are wrong and B You have no authority over who I let into the lodging house. Secrets signed in, and agreed to follow the rules so she gets to stay. We're all tired so let's go to bed and maybe in the morning after you've thought this through you'll realize that if your girlfriend was thrown out of her house you'd want her to stay here and you'd never bring up this many objections."     "She's Dave's sister, that makes her a semi-newsie." Jack said sulkingly.     "If she wasn't would you make her sleep on the streets?"     Jack said nothing.     "See. Secrets deserves the same rights as you would give Sarah. Treat her like you would a sister and the time she spends here will be calm and non confrontational. Alright Jack?"     "Yes Mister Kloppman." Jack turned to go back into the room but then paused. "Kloppman, thanks for not yelling at me in front of the boys."     "No problem Jack. Like I said, you're a good leader and I would never do anything to damage your authority. Now go to bed." Kloppman said kindly, then he got a stern look on his face. "And next time clean off your bed in the morning instead of waiting til two AM."     Jack smiled and went in to the bunk room to get some sleep. 

    "Is your Nickname Jack?" Stacey asked out of the blue as she walked with Jack to the Jacobs the next morning. It was decided that Stacey and Sarah could do something together until the boys were done selling. Jack was then nominated to walk her there while Crutchy got Jack's papers for him.     "Uh..." Jack said, dumbfounded, he didn't know how to answer. This was so different from the barrage of 'Are we there yet?' that he had gotten the whole trip so far.     "It's a simple question. Was Jack the name you were born with or a nick name?" Stacey asked again.     "Uh...I was born under a different name but Jack Kelly isn't exactly my nickname. Cowboy is my nickname." Jack said dumbly. She had completely caught him off guard.     "So no one knows your real name?" She asked with a curious smile.     "Not really" Jack answering. "You know, you have a pretty smile."     "Are you trying to change the subject?" Stacey asked, grinning now.     Jack shrugged and answered "Yes"     "Well it's not going to work." Stacey stated. "So if I wanted I could say my name was something even if it wasn't?"     "Yeah, but it's not often that people do that. We have nicknames. I just wanted to be known under a different name because someone is looking for me still to this day and I'd rather not be caught by him again."     "I think I'll go by Georgia Peach until I decide to reveal my real name." Stacey said triumphantly.     "Why Georgia Peach?" Jack asked confused.     "I found all these love letters when I was younger from my dad to my mom and he always called her peach in them, or something to that extent and since I'm from Georgia that seemed like a great first name in my opinion."     "It works for you Secrets, or should I call you Georgia now?" Jack said in an amused tone.     "Call me whatever you like but never call me late for dinner." She answered. "Are we there yet?" She asked for the 20th time     Jack sighed in exasperation then yelled. "Yes, we are finally here. Are you content now? Does this fill some kind of empty void inside the depth of your soul!?"     "Yes, actually" Stacey answered while climbing the fire escape.     Jack groaned in frustration and then followed her up. 

    "David, Jack will be here any minute. How do I look?" Sarah asked in a rush.     David paused for a moment then looked at her, sizing her up so to speak. He looked in her eye and said, with a complete straight face. "Do you want the honest answer or the humour you answer?"     "You're no help at all!" Sarah screamed at him before running back in her room to redo her hair.     "Sarah, what does it matter, it's not like you guys are going out, he's just coming over to pick up Les and me" David called through her door.     "I know, but I still want to look nice." She yelled back.     "If it means that much to you, you looked nice, you looked very nice. You looked nicer than any girl in all of New York!" He yelled back with a little more than a hint of sarcasm before going to find Les.     Just then, Jack knocked on the window.     David walked over and let Jack in. He was more then mildly surprised when a girl followed Jack into the apartment. "Who might this be?" He asked cautiously.     "This is Georgia Peach, aka Secrets." Jack said off-handedly as he looked around the apartment. "Is Sarah around?"     David tried to hold back a grin. "She'll be out in a second. She's still doing what she's been doing for the last two hours. Making herself look like she hasn't been getting ready to see you." He finished that sentences just in time to be hit in the head by a pillow that came from the direction of Sarah's room.     Sarah walked out as calm as a cat. "Good Morning Jack" She said smiling. She walked up and gave him a light kiss.     "Hi Sarah, how are you this morning?" He asked holding her close, stroking her arms.     Sarah blushed a bit. "I'm fine, thanks for asking."     Just then they heard Stacey making gagging noises. They both looked over at her confused.     "Jeez, can you two be any less disgustingly sweet? I think I'm getting a cavity" She grumbled.     Sarah backed away from Jack and waited to be introduced to this girl.     "This is Georgia Peach, she goes by the nickname Secrets. I was wondering, since you said you didn't have anything to do today, if maybe you could spend some time with her well me and the guys are selling. Keep her out of trouble so to speak." Jack said, keeping his eyes glued to his shoes.     "Alright, why is she with you though?" Sarah asked looking at the girl again.     "Kloppman decided to let her stay at the Lodging house for the time being until she can find her family."     Sarah walked over to Stacey and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you"     Stacey grinned and took her hand. "You too"     "Jack, I found Les, now we have to go" David said, almost pulling Les behind him.     "Alright, bye Sarah" He said giving her a hug. He turned to Stacey. "Don't get into trouble." was all he said before disappearing out the fire escape.     "Have you had breakfast yet?" Sarah asked. "I'm Sarah Jacobs, by the way."     "Nope, haven't eaten yet, and I kinda assumed you were Sarah, the Jacobs thing is new though." Stacey answered.     "We're just going to have to get some breakfast into you then, won't we?" Sarah said heading for the kitchen.     "That would be great." Stacey answered, following.     Sarah put some of the porridge she made for David and Les into a bowl and gave it to Stacey, who started to devour it. "So tell me about yourself" Sarah said, trying to start a conversation.     Between mouthfuls Stacey answered. "I'm from Georgia......My mother died......My only Family is in New York......I have to get to the House of Refuge."     Sarah blinked at the last statement. "Why would you want to go there?"     "That's where my Grand-Father is. I need to go there but none of the Newsies will go near the place." Stacey said desperately before taking another mouthful of porridge.     "I suppose we could go there today, we just can't stay there too long." Sarah said after a moment of consideration. "Jack hates that place more then anything so I advise you not bring it up with him."     "Crutchy hates it too." Stacey answered, finishing off the porridge. "If you want I could do the dishes and then we can go."     Sarah was extremely surprised by the offer and took a moment to compose herself again. "Why don't you wash and I'll dry then we'll be done a lot quicker."     "Sounds good to me." 

    Back at the Lodging House. Kloppman had found a Hammer and started pulling boards off of an old door that people rarely every noticed. It was across from the Bunk Room but it had been boarded off so most people assumed it was just a poorly made wall. As soon as he pulled down the last board he saw an inscription that he had completely forgotten about. Carved on the door were the words. 'Girls Only! Boys: Enter N Die.' Kloppman touched the letters and almost heard the giggles that used to emanate from this room.     "It's about time we got some girls in here again" He said as his eyes got a little misty, remembering what happened to the girls that used to fill the room and nearly outnumber the guys. 

**

****Flash Back, About 18 years Before****

**

    _Everything was calm. It was a night Like any other Saturday. The boys were out having their weekly poker Game and the girls were in their room having their traditional sleep over where they divulged secrets that no male Newsie was ever allowed to hear.     Peach had invited him in to have cookies and milk with them like they did every night so he knew somewhat about what happened at these little get togethers. They were all sitting in a circle eating. Jewel, Masquerade and Ambrosia all were covered in water, Salem had makeup smeared on her face. Lilac was blushing as red as a tomato and Peach just looked Mildly amused at her Newsies. Others were smirking, giggling or trying to avoid doing either of those things and a few were just trying to sleep but those were a small minority of the girls.     "Hey Kloppman, aren't you glad you have us girls here to keep those boys out of trouble?" Peach said with a wide smirk.     "It wouldn't be the same without you guys- er....Girls here. I would really miss you." Kloppman had answered, looking around in awe, once again, at the walls of the Bunk room. They were covered in murals and slogans such as 'Newsies=Guys club? I think NOT!' and 'Girls rule, boys drool' and so on. Peach had said that a lot of girls feel intimidated by the fact that the majority of Newsies were boys and so they had to decorate their Bunk room to inspire girls to greatness. Those were her exact words. That's how she convinced Kloppman to let them paint the walls.     "Don't worry Kloppman, as long as there are girls in the Lodging House, you have nothing to worry about" Peach said jokingly, trying to lighten the dark mood that had somehow settled over them. "It's my birthday today, turned 18. Wanna see what the girls gave me?"     "I didn't know it was your birthday, I would have gotten you something." Kloppman said. Out of all the Newsies, he liked Peach the best. She was almost like a daughter to him and unlike the other Newsies, she tried to include him into their lives instead of treating him like some kind of outsider.     "I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. The girls gave me this" She said as she handed him a well carved and polished wooden heart. It had NY engraved in it. "Cause I love New York." She had said.     Kloppman laughed. "How about I get you something and give it to you later as a surprise."     "I'd love that, but you don't have to."     "Sure, It's no problem. You'll get it, I promise." He gave her a hug and just then the bulls ran in.     They surrounded the girls who didn't even have the slightest chance of getting away and all Kloppman could do was sit and watch, because two bulls had forced him into a chair and were holding him there.     Snyder himself had come, he watched as bulls struggled with girls who were fighting as if there was no tomorrow, with this amused grin. He walked through the chaos and approached Peach who was struggling against two bulls. Snyder grabbed her by the chin and looked her in the eye with an almost evil grin on his face. "Hello Darling. Happy Birthday" He said meanly before ordering all the Newsies taken to the refuge.     That was all it took, then one by one they were gone. Crab-Apple, Ambrosia, Jewel, Masquerade, Tictac, Mirage and Mirror (The twins), Stained-glass, Ink, Orchid, Salem, Miracle, Magic, Ice, Princess, Queen, Dream and Sleeper. They even look little Lilac who was barely five years old. Last but not least however, they took Peach, who had fought with all her strength but couldn't beat that many bulls at once. She was torn away from her home with Snyder following, that same evil grin caressed his lips the whole time.     It happened so suddenly that Kloppman was just in a state of shock over it. He had lost his Newsies, his girls.
_

******End Flashback******

    Kloppman had boarded off this room shortly after the court convicted him of being a little too friendly with the female Newsies so to speak, since they caught him hugging peach they said that no girls were allowed to live at the Lodging house for 5 years. He didn't want any boys to move in there so he assumed it was better to board it off for now. When the sentence was up, no girls ever came, the boys didn't want girls to invade their turf. So the room just stayed boarded until today.     Kloppman opened the door, that opened remarkably smoothly all things considered and turned on the lights. It was like walking into an ancient tomb. As if nothing had been touched for centuries, clothes were still flung around the room, books were pilled everywhere. Make-up, fake jewellery, everything was exactly as it had been left. The Murals that were once bright and beautiful were faded slightly but still proclaimed their message loudly.     With tears in his eyes, Kloppman started, for the first time, picking up after the ones he still thought of as 'his girls'. 

    "Here we are, the house of refuge." Sarah said with forced happiness.     "Thanks for bringing me. You don't have to stay if you don't want to." Stacey said nervously.     "I couldn't just leave you alone. Jack would kill me. We'll go in together and we'll leave together ok?" Sarah said as she reassuringly squeezed Stacey's shoulder.     "Alright." Stacey answered, a little reassured. Still she looked up at the gates in fear, suddenly wondering if this was a good idea after all. 

    A/N: Wow, that took me longer then usual to write. I was busy this weekend however. I went to my friend Natalie's Birthday Party, she turned 18. I also got my guitar this weekend. I'm currently in the middle of eating dinner and my cat is getting half of it. Hope you like the chapter and I beg you to give me a review. Ps: This one is for you Scarlet. 


	4. Interlude

    Hi, um Randomness here. I'm just writting this to A: Tell you what's been happening lately to explain why I haven't been posting any new episodes. I'm usually a lot quicker then this. And B: to explain a few things about the story so there won't be any confusion. 

A     I went camping for a weekend and went to my friend Nat AKA Chaos Raining's birthday party the week before. I also have been swamped with school work and have been desperately trying to catch up on sleep. Also, something else that made the next episode slow was that I just watched the Newsie Movie for the first time in 7 years and I found out that Snyder was arrested so I had to alter the next chapter to deal with that. It's all good now though so the next chapter should be up soon. I won't be working on it on the weekend though because I'm going away for thanksgiving. 

B     For those of you who read my story Santa Fe which was sort of tied into this, you may be confused. This story happened before Santa Fe, I just have a habit of throwing stories out of order. I, in fact, have one that I plan to do dealing with Spot during the strike so as you can see this series is going to be completely out of order but I think it'll still be good. 

    Thank you for listening to me ramble, I hope I didn't bore you too much. If it's not too much trouble I would love it if you would review my story too. I don't often get reviews but everytime I do I sometimes manage to write at least a page of the story. Anyway, I got 100% on my English assignement. Yay ME! 


	5. Past Unfolds

    Disclaimer: Now that we're in New York I really can't claim most of the people being mentioned as mine. Basically Stacey is mine and Erik too, if I bring him in this chapter, if not, then he still is mine it just doing apply. Anyway, This Chapter is for my good friend Natalie, aka Chaos Raining who'd birthday was September 30th. Happy B-day Nat, and may the Spades be with you (For everyone else, it's an inside joke.) 

Fresh Picked Georgia Peach  
By Randomness 

    "What do yah mean Snyder isn't here?" Stacey yelled at the new warden of the Refuge. They had replaced Snyder with someone who wasn't quite as bad but he was working his way up to Snyder's evilness.     "As I said miss Peach," Mr. Smyth said. "Snyder was arrested and if you want to see him, you and your little friend can go see him in Jail."     "But I have to find him. He's my Grand-Father." Stacey screamed as she angrily paced the room.     "So you're an orphan?" Mr. Smyth said with an evil grin.     "Yeah...." Stacey said with hesitation.     "Maybe we'll be seeing you again soon then. Now if you excuse me, I have important business to attend to." Mr. Smyth said as he showed them out of the room.     "I doubt it" Stacey grumbled as she stormed out of the office with Sarah in tow. 

    "Your Grand Father is Snyder?"     "Yeah, so?" Stacey answered a little testily. She was now in a bad mood to have gotten so close just to have her family pulled away.     "I wouldn't mention that to the Newsies, especially Jack if I were you." Sarah said simply.     "Why?" Stacey asked looking up at Sarah who was at least a foot taller then her.     "Jack's greatest fear in the whole world was Snyder. Thousands of kids were backing Jack up, he had just faced down Pulitzer and he had won the Strike, but when Snyder showed up he was ready to run scared; Denton had to push him to get him to come back. A lot of people, especially orphans, breathed a lot easier when he was locked up." Sarah said passionately.     "My mother said he wasn't a great person and that she never liked him but he was my only family." Stacey said sadly, almost ready to cry.     "Hey, no matter what, your mother will be in your heart. She'll always be with you, always." Sarah said, putting her arm around Stacey's shoulder. "And If that isn't good enough, I'll make you my honorary little sister for life."     "Wow, Thanks!" Stacey said hugging Sarah.     "Well, what do you want to do now that we still have half a day left?" Sarah asked, taking Stacey's arm.     "Is there any place we could go swimming?" Stacey inquired. "I used to swim a lot when I was in Georgia but I can't find anywhere to swim here."     "I wouldn't advise swimming in anywhere you could find and afford in New York.......How about we go to Irving hall and see a show? We might run into Jack there."     "Irving Hall?" Stacey asked, deep in thought. "I know that name from somewhere, I just can't remember where."     "Let's go" Sarah said excitedly and they left the dreariness of the Refuge heading towards the brilliant colours of Irving Hall. 

    Unknown to them, someone else was heading to Irving hall too. Mr Kloppman was hurrying to see Medda to whom he wanted to give a Message. Kloppman walked in, only to be stopped by a guard. "Excuse me, I need to see Medda Larkson."     "Nobody sees Miss Medda unless they are on the list" The big muscled guard bellowed.     "I am an old friend of Miss Medda and she would see me if you just tell her Mr. Kloppman is here to see her." Kloppman said, sounding almost annoyed.     "Nobody sees Miss Medda." He answered.     "Are you some kind of Parrot?" He asked in a kind tone.     The guard looked confused. "Do I look like a Parrot?"     Kloppman chose not to answer that. "Can you just tell Miss Medda that I've lost some Ambrosia and if she has any information about it that she should come see me in the Lodging house." he, then, turned and left Irving Hall. He couldn't have stayed long anyway, he was needed at the lodging house. 

    "This is Irving Hall?" Stacey said looking around.     "Oh yeah, this is where the infamous Newsie Rally was held that absolutely no one except those who were there remember. Wait, that's not entirely true everyone who read the Newsie Banner found out about it." Sarah said thoughtfully as they walked Past Lenny, the guard. He let them in because Jack brought Sarah here a lot on dates.     "What's the Newsie Banner?" Stacey asked. Sarah had been telling her more about the Newsies then the actual Newsies had.     "It's the Newspaper that Jack, David and I, as well as Denton made in order to win the strike."     "And Denton is a reporter?"     "Yes, and he is one of the Nicest Men in New York too." Sarah said as they sat down.     Medda rushed out on stage. "I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, I just found out something really important that I have to do right now so I'll be unable to perform tonight. However, you'll be hearing the performances of my new girls, Stella and Serene." Medda said in a rush before leaving as quickly as she came and running full speed out of Irving Hall.     "That's was weird, I've never heard Medda missing a performance...." Sarah whispered to Stacey as Serena started to sing.     "Oh, well. Let's just listen to these people..." Stacey answered as she turned her eyes back to the stage. 

    "Kloppman?" Medda said loudly as she ran into the Lodging House.     Kloppman looked at her. "I hope I didn't worry you....."     "Didn't Worry ME!?" Medda yelled "I was worried sick. You don't go using emergency code without any reason."     "I couldn't get to you myself so I left a message. Since you're here, I'll tell you what I went to see you for." Kloppman said kindly. "I've opened up the old Girls Bunk Room.....I thought you might like some of the stuff that was left there."     Medda stood there dumbfounded and dumbly followed Kloppman upstairs. She hadn't walked into that room since that fateful night.     "You're collection boxes are still there. All of them except Peach." Kloppman said, trying to end the Awkward silence. "She came and got hers when she broke out. Your's was 'Talent' Am I right?"     Medda took a moment to respond as she slowly reached out to touch the old door, as if spell bound. Finally his words penetrated and the spell was broken. "What?...oh, yeah. Mine was Talent...." she said, opening the door and walking in. "It's like I'm stepping into the past...." Medda breathed. "Almost like I'm 16 years old again."     "I know what you mean, Amber" Kloppman muttered, as he walked over to the heavily draped window and opened them to let sunlight in.     The Windows were painted too but they were painted to look like stained glass. That's how the Newsie who painted them got her name 'Stained-Glass' Like everything else in the room, these had Slogans on them too. The first window was decorated with leaves and flowers and it said,_ 'Miracles don't just happen, you gotta make em.'_ and it was signed 'Miracle'. She was the Newsie who collected Miracles and that was what was inscribed on her collection box. The second window was a beautiful Landscape of New York at Sunset, it looked almost funny because you could see the real, dreary New York through it. This one said _'Home is where your heart and Family is. This is ours.'_ and it was signed 'Mirage and Mirror' who were so identical that absolutely no one could tell them apart. They're collection boxes said 'Memories' and 'Tricks'. The Last Window was exactly what was actually outside the window when the painting was done. There was a building that didn't exist anymore but it was a perfect replica otherwise. The colours were also a lot brighter, she used reds, blues, greens, yellows etc, instead of the typical greys and browns that were the New York norm. _ 'You can't escape reality, but reality is only as dreary as you make it.'_ and it was signed by Jewel, the one who collected Smiles. If you took the time to look, you would notice that there were 20 slogans that splashed the walls, each one attributed to a girl Newsie. They had honestly made this room home before they were torn away.     "Ambrosia." Medda muttered as if by reflex to Kloppman's former comment. She walked slowly over to the slogan that was signed by her, Ambrosia. _'Never let go of your dreams, because one day the wind will pick up and if you're still hanging on, you'll Fly.' _     "There's some clothes around but I figured you would really want the collection boxes before the new girl moves it." Kloppman said around the lump that had appeared in his throat.     "They should go back to their owners, or at least the families." Medda said looking at the boxes that had been flung across the room in the fight that occurred the last time this room had held life.     "I don't know where the other girls are. I lost track of most of them, I knew about you because Jack talked about you continually, but that's about it." Kloppman answered, looking around. He had cleaned up everything, even washed the clothes but he couldn't make himself touch the boxes yet. Those were sacred to the girls.     "I know Masquerade died in the Refuge." Medda said as a tear came to her eye.     Masquerade had been 8 when they were taken, as well as sick and she just couldn't take it in the Refuge. Her slogan had been 'Live life while yah can.' and her box said 'Masks' because she always put on a brave front even though the doctor said it was unlikely that she would live anyway.     "Yeah, I know. I paid for her funeral..." Kloppman said quietly.     "I think Lilac went back to the orphanage....Peach got married and left. Miracle went to Brooklyn and she died there..." Medda answered trying to keep a steady voice but she was failing terribly.     "Shh" Kloppman said kindly as he wrapped his arms around her and murmured soothingly. "I miss them too...."     They stood like that for a long moment. For the first time in years they mourned the ones they lost. 

    Jack just finished selling his papes when he started heading home with David and Les. "David, you're the walking mouth, do you think that it was unfair for me to object to Georgia being in the lodging house?"     David looked surprised at the question and then said. "It was unfair. A little anyway. She deserves to have a place out of the cold as much as anyone."     "That's what I thought" Jack said with a slight sigh. "You know, we'll be the laughing stalk of New York as soon as they find out. I shudder to think of what Spot'll do."     "Spot doesn't like girls?" David said innocently with a slight smirk.     "Not living in his lodging house." Jack answered seriously. "As long as I can remember Spot refused to let any girl in the lodging house. He was very stubborn about it."     "I'm sure it'll be fine. He trusts you so he'll probably agree with your decision." David said in a confident voice.     Just then a bottle broke that was on a ledge beside where they were walking.     Jack and David turned quickly and saw Spot standing there with 5 of his Newsies there, all holding there slingshots threateningly.     "Jack, the birdies have been chirping in my ear. They've been saying that Jack be nimble got himself a girl in his lodging house." Spot said stepping forward to face Jack away from the others.     "Yeah, her name's Georgia, nice girl. Kloppman adores her." Jack said quickly, stepping forward and spitting in his hand,     Spot seemed to consider a moment and then spit in his own hand and shook with Jack. "I don't want her to be a Newsie, stuff like that spreads."     David almost smirked at that. "Spot are you feeling threatened by girls? Are you afraid that some girl will come along and take over your Spot as leader of Brooklyn?"     Jack raised an eye brow at David but didn't interrupt. The Walking Mouth had been around too long for Jack to keep covering for him.     Spot turned bright red with anger and charged David. He punched him in the mouth.     David Kicked Spot in the chin as hard as he could while trying to avoid anymore punches. As soon as David was away from Spot the smirk returned. "Methinketh the lady doth protest too much."     "Who are you callin' a Lady?!" Spot yelled before tackling David to the ground.     Jack ran forward and pulled Spot off David. "Spot, I can't bring my girl's brother home like he's been through sixty rounds with a professional boxer."     One of his Newsies grabbed Spot by the arm to hold him back and gave him a quick glare. Something passed between them and Spot calmed down.     David had a rapidly swelling eye and a bloody lip. "It's been nice chatting with you Spot." He coughed out. As he climbed the fire escape to his apartment.     "Spot, he didn't mean anything by it. It was something in a book a his and nothin more." Jack said to Spot when his friend left.     "I know, the Mouth sometimes doesn't use the brains that are in his head." Spot answered.     "I was hoping you and Davy would get along...." Jack muttered.     "We get along fine. No worries Jack be nimble. I'm heading back to Brookline." Spot said disappearing, the newsie who was holding him back was essentially pulling him away too.     "That was incredibly weird..." Jack whispered at his friend's departing back.     David jumped back down from the fire escape. "My sister and Your friend Georgia aren't here anymore." David said quickly. "Sarah said that she would be doing Errands all morning and they might go to Medda's after that but they should have been back before now" David was clearly worried.     "Let's go check at Medda's!" Jack exclaimed as he started running in the direction of Irving hall. 

    About an hour before the confrontation between Jack and Spot, Medda's afternoon show had just finished and the Sarah offered to get diner there for herself and Stacey. They were sitting at their table eating their hot dogs when Medda ran in looking exhausted. She had tear streaks on her face and a pile of clothes and other things in her arms. She walked right by them without even looking their way and went straight to her dressing room.     "Oh my!" Sarah exclaimed. "We should go check on Medda, she looks like she had the worst news of her life."     "I thought you didn't like her all that much." Stacey said bluntly.     "It's not that I don't like her, because I do. I wouldn't have come here if I didn't. I just don't like it when Jack only pays attention to her. Which happens quite often. We should just make sure she's ok." Sarah got up and headed straight for the dressing room. She knocked on the door and walked in.     Stacey looked at her food with a grievous expression, ate a few more bites and then followed Sarah.     Medda was still crying when she got into the room.     "Medda, what's wrong?" Sarah asked as she gave Medda a big hug.     "I just had to face a few ghosts that's all" Medda answered as she slowly calmed down.     "It's alright" Sarah soothed as she rocked back and forth.     Stacey felt a little out of place, so she stood back and let Sarah do everything. She was basically trying not to be noticed.     They just sat there for a while and Medda eventually completely calmed down. Stacey never had that ability with people, she couldn't just let them calm down. She always tried to fix things and for that split second, she really envied Sarah.     "Thank you Sarah, you really are a nice person." Medda said as she pulled away from Sarah.     "Well, you're like family to Jack," Sarah said, much to Medda's amusement. "And that makes you like family to me." she finished with a smile.     Medda just smiled back.     Stacey was tired of being ignored and her short attention span wasn't helping either, so she cleared her throat to Remind everyone that she was there.     Sarah and Medda looked over. Sarah looked almost embarrassed for forgetting Stacey and Medda had just frozen and wide eyed.     "That was terribly rude of me. Medda, this is Jack's new boarder, Georgia Peach." Sarah said politely.     "......Georgia......Peach....?" Medda managed to choke out while not taking her eyes off Stacey for a moment.     "Yeah" She answered with as smile as she put out her hand to Shake Medda's.     Medda collapsed, and for the first time in her whole life, she fainted dead away. 

    Author's Note: I finished this quicker than I thought. I know that David probably wouldn't go up against Spot like that but I figure, he has a lot more self confidence since the strike so he might do that. Also, Medda was a Newsie, those of you that are in denial about that fact I'm just going to say it straight out. In this story she was a Newsie. I guess this story is for my good friend Melody. Stacey's looks were based on her a little. Hope you enjoyed it and it would be very nice if you reviewed. 


	6. Jack Sprat

    Alright, in my last episode, I dedicated it to two people. In all actuality, last Episode was for Nat, this one is for Mel. I got really confused for some reason and thought I was further along then I was. Also, congrats to my cousin Jen who is getting married and having a baby. 

Fresh Picked Georgia Peach

By Randomness 

    "So you have no idea why she fainted?" Jack demanded as he paced the room. When they arrived and saw Medda on the floor he immediately sent David to get Kloppman. He didn't know what else to do. Now Kloppman was in there with Medda and they were all outside waiting.     "I don't know, she just said my name and fainted." Stacey answered feeling more and more guilty by the second. She honestly had no clue why Miss Larkson had fainted but she knew it was her fault.     "That's the way I saw it too, Georgia didn't say anything or do anything, she just stood there." Sarah said, standing up and wrapping her arms around him.     Jack seemed to calm down instantly and just hold Sarah for a little while.     "Hey David" Stacey said quietly as to not disturb Sarah and Jack, "Why do you have a black eye and swollen lip?"     David seemed to suddenly remember that he was injured. It had slipped his mind in all the chaos and now that he remembered it started hurting again. "I did something incredibly stupid. Basically, I baited Spot Conlon, not the best idea in the world, to be quite honest though, the look on his face made the whole thing worth it." David finished with a smirk.     "You know, you remind me of someone I know, sometimes." Stacey said off-handedly as she began to wonder what happened to Erik.     "What? You only know him sometimes?" David asked jokingly.     "No, you only act like him sometimes." Stacey answered not even noticing the joke.     "I hope that's a compliment."     "I nicknamed him the nightmare, if that's any help deciding." She answered this time smiling herself to show she's only bugging him.     "So what happened to this friend of your's?" David asked while sitting down beside her.     "I haven't the foggiest idea, we came to New York together and then we parted ways. I figured we'd see each other again eventually because we continually ran into each other where we used to live. I underestimated how big this city was though. I might never see him again.." She said mournfully.     "I'm sure you will. After all the complete coincidences I've seen in this City I would be surprised if you didn't see him again." David said with a reassuring smile before jumping up when Kloppman opened the door. "Is she alright?!" He nearly screamed.     Kloppman shushed him and whispered. "She wants to talk with Jack alone for a moment."     Jack let go of Sarah and walked into the room, shutting the door quietly behind him and not looking back at them at all.     Sarah, looking almost insulted, almost, not quite. Walked over and started interrogating Kloppman. 

    Jack nervously walked to where Medda was lying. She was the closest thing he had to a mother since his own had died and now something was wrong and he didn't know what it was so he couldn't fix it.     Medda smiled at him. "Kelly, don't look like that. I'm not dying or anything. Come on over here. I only asked you in so I could talk to you about something I was going to mention anyway, I'm not going to read off my will or promise you Irving Hall or anything so don't be so nervous."     Jack tried to chuckle but he was just too afraid that maybe she was putting on a brave front for his benefit.     "Honest, I just had a bit of a shock after a hard day. Now come over here and sit by me, I have something to show you." Medda said gesturing at a share while she pulled a box out from under her pillow. "I never really told you the truth about how I met your mother. Not really. I told you we were old friends and that was it and that is where the lie is. Do you remember what I told you about your mother when you first showed up at my door step?" 

***FlashBack 4 years prior****

__

    13 year old Francis Sullivan was standing at the door of Irving Hall. His mother told him to come here if he ever needed anything, and boy did he needed help right now. Only problem is that he was nervous. He had never been out of Brooklyn before being put in the refuge and now he couldn't go back. Not with his best friend and him fighting so much. Sure, Danny couldn't force him away but Francis didn't want to stay with so much bad blood between them. Now he just had to go into this building and ask for help.......Francis wasn't moving, he must have stood there at least an hour, with thunder and lightning filling the sky; rain drops were attacking him, chills to the dept of his bones yet he couldn't force his feet to move forward towards the warmth of Irving Hall.     Medda Larkson had been informed of the Boy who was standing outside Irving hall like a Statue with a small bag in his hand so she went out to see who it was. "Excuse me, may I help you?" She asked.     He looked like a deer caught in headlights.     "Since it's raining out why don't you come inside?" She said gently taking his hand and leading him in. "My Goodness, you're frozen!" Medda exclaimed. "Here, let me find some dry clothes for you to change into." She pulled open a trunk and pulled out an old shirt and a pair of pants. "Here, I'm going to go and sing now so you can get changed in here undisturbed." Then she hurried out the door.     Francis looked a little confused but one thing was true. He was cold, he needed to get dry and the first step would be a change of clothes. That's what his sister, Amanda always said. So he put on the clothes which were way too big for him then tied a piece of rope around his waist to keep his pants up. Franky, then reach into his bag and pulled out the black cowboy hat his mother had given him and put it on. It was still to big for him but it was starting to fit. Franky followed the sound of music to backstage where he saw his first Medda Larkson performance.     "Hey Kid, ain't she a beaut?" a man said having walked up beside him and started watching the show. "Best singer I've ever seen." The man said in a conversational tone.     "Yeah, she's really good...." Jack answered in awe.     "She certainly has a lot of Talent, that's for sure." He turned to Franky. "What's with the cowboy hat?" He asked in amusement. "You Jack Kelly or something?"     "Who's Jack Kelly?" Francis asked while keeping one eye on Medda. She was hypnotizing.     "He's a character in an old story book that belonged to an old friend. Hero of Santa Fe. My name's Kloppman, by the way." The man said holding out his hand.     Jack shook Kloppman's hand. "My mother used to tell me about Santa Fe. She said it was the best most magical place in the world."     Medda started another Song, 'Blue Moon' It was beautiful.     Kloppman watched her for a moment longer then pulled out a pocket watch. "I must be going now. I have responsibilities elsewhere. Maybe I'll see you around, Little Jack Kelly." He said, leaving before Francis could properly introduce himself.     "Maybe...." Franky muttered in Answer then turned to look at Medda again.     Medda finished her song and received mountains of applause. She smiled, blew kisses and made her way off stage.     "So, now are you ready to tell me why you were standing outside my place for an hour?" She asked, her tone still bright but she now had an eyebrow raised.     "Um....Well....My mother told me if I needed anything ever that I should come to Irving Hall and find Ambrosia....." He said looking down. He really felt out of place here and that made him nervous.     "Where are you from?" Medda asked completely serious now.     "Brooklyn." He answered now looking her straight in the eye.     "Is your mother still alive?" She asked quickly.     "No, she died about 5 years ago." He replied.     "I'd say that you're.....Miracles little boy." She said smiling again though it didn't reach her eyes. "And that would make you Francis Sullivan right?"     "Yeah! How'd you know?" Jack asked with immediate suspicion.     "Because I'm Ambrosia and I'm an old friend of your mother's. How did you end up needing my help?" She asked as she started back towards her dressing room expecting Franky to follow.     "I can't go back to Brooklyn, he'll find me there...." Franky started. It wasn't technically a lie, he just decided not to mention his fight with Danny. "And I don't know anywhere else."     "Who'll find you?" Medda asked, pouring herself a glass of water upon their arrival in her change room. She put it to her lips for a nice good drink.     "Snyder"     CRASH! Medda had dropped the glass and it shattered into a million pieces spreading glass and water everywhere. Medda whirled around to stare at him. "Why are you involved with him?!"     "I was caught after my father was arrested and Snyder said since I had nowhere to go I should be put in the refuge for my own good." Franky answered, again not an actual lie. "He seemed a little obsessed with me though...."     "Franky, you're what? 12?" Medda asked while sitting down to calm her nerves.     "13" Franky answered and his chin went up a bit with pride.     "There are some thing about yourself you should know...." She gestured to a chair. "Have a seat."     Francis sat and looked almost nervous. "Yeah?"     "You always believed that Francis Sullivan Sr was your father but that's not quite true...." Medda seemed to be struggling.     "What do you mean?" Francis asked. For some reason his stomach tightened and he had the overwhelming feeling that this would just get worse.     "Your mother was in the Refuge when she was about 16....A lot of girls were...."     "There weren't any when I was there...except Mandy and Jessie" Franky said confused.     "Well, they were probably there temporarily and your mother was mainly to blame for that.....You see, Snyder is a very sick man, when his wife died and his daughter ran away, he snapped. He blamed his daughter for his wife's death so he searched for her, went insane looking. When he finally found her, he wanted to do anything to hurt her, that included raping one of her closest friends. Your mother." Medda seemed choked up but managed to continue just barely. "You were conceived and the Bull-....I mean, police officers, found out about it so they made it impossible for girls to be put in the Refuge while Snyder was in charge. All the girls were set free, and most of them were so scared they just packed up and left. Your mother married the first person she could find to make you legitimate and that's how you ended up being here."     "So he's my father?" Franky asked, completely dumbstruck.     "He helped conceive you, I wouldn't say he's anymore your father then he was his daughter's. I just suggest you stay as far away from him as possible. How did you get out of the Refuge anyway?" Medda asked, trying to get her mind off their former topic. If she didn't think about it, it wouldn't depress her.     "We just kinda left.....Three of us went separate and the guards couldn't follow us all. They all left after a bit of a chase and I walked out the front gate behind the nun carriage." Franky answered still trying to digest the fact that he was a mistake. Tears came to his eyes and he angrily wiped them away. "What am I gonna do?"     "You could always be a Newsie.... I think you were born to do it. I'll bring you over to the lodging house tomorrow." Medda said before giving him a bed and letting him fall unconscious. 

    The next day they walked to the lodging house and Medda brought him in. "Hey Kloppman, I have a new recruit here for you"     Kloppman turned and looked at Franky. "If it isn't Little Jack Kelly, I was wondering if you would end up here. It's a penny a night and the first night is free. You just have to sign in." He said pulling out a book.     Franky looked at some of the names. "Glue? Donuts? Randomness?" He asked, reading off some of them.     "People don't usually sign their real names. They usually have nicknames to avoid being found.     "Alright." Franky picked up the pen and in bold letters he wrote 'Jack Kelly'     Kloppman just smiled and said. "Welcome Mister Kelly. Right this way." 

***End flashback*** 

    Jack looked at Medda. "Yeah, I remember what you told me."     "Remember how I said you were born to be a Newsie?" Medda asked putting the box on her lap.     "Yeah" Jack answered, still unsure where this was going.     "Your mother was a Newsie named Miracles. I was one too....Ambrosia, if you remembered that aspect of the conversation. She was one of the best; heck, all the girls were. She used to call you her miracle. Did you know that?"     Jack shook his head. "I always thought I ruined her life." He was getting more and more emotional as this conversation continued. He just had too much stress today.     "No, she looked you Jack. You were her light that made her go on. You probably were the one thing that kept her alive in the Refuge, the fact that you needed her."     "Why are you telling me this now?" Jack said as he fought valiantly against tears.     "Because Kloppman is opening up the girls bunk room in the Lodging house again and he had some of your mother's things there.-"     "She was a Manhattan Newsie?!" Jack exclaimed jumping up. "Under Kloppman!?"     "Yeah, she was. Kloppman's been running that place since what seems like forever. Anyway, one of those things was her treasure chest and I thought you should have it."     "Treasure chest?" Jack asked, sitting down again, immediately subdued.     "Some called it the collection boxes. Here, this is her's" Medda said, handing him the wooden box with the word Miracles on it.     "You put your names on them?" Jack asked while looking at the box with a eyes full of awe.     "Nope, we put what we collected on them. I was talent because it was decided that I collected Talent. Her's was Miracle because she always believed that the impossible could happen and she made it happen. That was also the reasoning behind her name. You reminded me of her during the strike. How you managed to make the most powerful man in New York to buckle under your demands. That's something she would do." Medda said with a small smile.     "How do I open this?" Jack asked as he struggled to open it.     "Hit the bottom and the back then it should pop open." Medda answered, sitting up a little higher.     "What's in it?" Jack questioned as he did what he was told.     "I don't know, we never told everyone else what we kept in ours. It was our most prized possessions."     Jack opened it and all he found was a tied together book and a bunch of notes. "What's this?" He asked holding up the book.     Medda grinned. "I haven't seen that in Forever. That's the adventure of Jack Kelly, first edition."     Jack raised an eye-brow while looking at it.     "Your mother made up the stories that always took place in Santa Fe. An other Newsie Named Ink wrote them and Stained-Glass Illustrated them. That was the first one. After that they got a little common, but we were all so proud of the first one. If you happen to find the other ones, read them. I always thought they were pretty good." Medda said. "Kelly, I'm tired now. You should probably be going to bed too, nearly lights out."     Jack smiled at her, kissed her forehead then left the room. 

    "Kloppman?" Jack said as they were walking back to the Lodging house. David had walked home with Sarah so it was just Kloppman and Georgia with him and Kloppman was carrying Peach because she had fallen asleep and they hadn't the heart to wake her.     "Yeah Jack?"     "Do you have any copies of the adventures of Jack Kelly?"     Kloppman blinked at him. "How'd you know about those?"     Jack showed him the box. "Medda told me. She also told me my mother was a newsie named Miracles."     Kloppman didn't look surprised. "I'm not surprised. I thought you might me. The hat gave it away. She always insisted that Jack have a black hat and red Bandana. His side kick on the other hand..."     "He had a sidekick?" He asked his interest even more picked.     "Yeah, his sidekick was a girl with a red hat and black bandana. You can't have a bunk room of girls writing a story without a strong female character. At least not with Peach in charge." Kloppman said laughing a little.     "Kloppman, can you tell me about what my mother was like?" Jack asked with a twinge of nervousness.     "Sure kid, it all started when she showed up at the lodging house in the middle of a snow storm looking like a snowman, she had been kicked out of the orphanage because of having scarlet fever. It was a miracle she survived. She was just getting over it when she looked for shelter with us and that's how she became miracles. Boy did that girl have spunk...." Kloppman said, continuing with the story of Jack's mother the whole way to the lodging house. 

    Author's Note: I know this was a bit of a risky chapter but I decided that this should be how it all happened. My friend and Editor Nikki was a little worried too but she figured I could do it. Also, I know this chapter had nothing to do with Georgia but it was a necessary chapter. Please review, I would really love it. You can flame too if you want but please make it constructive. It always seems like people who flame for the sake of flaming are a little silly, but maybe that's just me. Hope you liked it! 


	7. And now a word from our sponsor

And now, a word from the Editor  
A.K.A. Scarlet

    Hey, everybody! I'm Randomness' beta-reader. She wanted me to write you a little note to explain why she probably won't be posting any new chapters for the time being. (Don't worry, it shouldn't be TOO long. ^^;;-) See, she and I have both been working on another fanfic series for a long time (It's a Sailor Moon fanfic). Almost a year now, actually. It's not hosted here on ff.net, we have our own website. Anyway, we write this fanfic in shifts. I write one 'episode', and she writes the next, and so on. It's her turn to write an episode now. She's dedicated herself to the task, and has vowed not to write any more of this story until she's finished her current task.     I'm so proud of her. ^__^     So, as soon as she finishes her shift, she'll be back to bring you more of her excellent story. I suppose if you want her to hurry, you could badger her to write more using the Reviews section or something.     If you have any questions you'd like to ask me, or would like me to forward to Randomness, e-mail me at NikkiScarlet@write-brain.net 


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